1. Ambassador-at-large on North Korean Human Rights Lee Jung-hoon, in his capacity as the government delegate of the Republic of Korea, will participate in and deliver remarks at an “interactive dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” which will be held at the UN General Assembly on October 27.

2. At his first UN meeting since the appointment as Ambassador-at-large on North Korean Human Rights on September 13 pursuant to the ROK’s North Korean human rights act, Ambassador-at-large Lee will condemn North Korea’s obsession with nuclear and missile development in disregard of human rights and livelihoods of the North Korean people, and ask the international community to pay continued attention to this issue

3. The forthcoming interactive dialogue will mark the first of its kind to be held at the General Assembly since Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana took up the post on August 1, 2016. It is expected to serve as a significant opportunity for the UN member states to learn about the Special Rapporteur’s assessment of the human rights situation in North Korea and his future plans; and to inform the Special Rapporteur of the international community’s concerns and matters of interest.

4. Going forward, the ROK government will take advantage of such opportunities as the interactive dialogue, the envisioned adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution on the North Korean human rights (at its Third Committee meeting in November and its plenary meeting in December), and the proposed Security Council meeting on the North Korean human rights in 2016 to make the issue be continuously taken up for discussions at the UN.


* unofficial translation